Shout out to tokiluv! Don't worry, I don't torment my characters without good reason :)
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Edit: Sorry about the whole deleting and then re-uploading thing. I noticed there was a plot detail that had been overlooked. But it's fixed now! And if you thought this was a real update, I'll try to get one in within the next twenty four hours.
"Are you sure about this?"
"For the thousandth time yes," said Alice, giving her friend a push.
Yuki hesitated for another second, but then a faint smile touched her face as she scampered out to the parking lot. Alice watched her go, smiling fondly. She had a feeling Yuki wouldn't be a reliable ride anymore. This time it seemed that Heracles had asked for help with homework. Alice knew for a fact that, while he slept through most classes, getting decent grades had never been a problem for him. The longer they were on land, the more Heracles found excuses to be around Yuki. That is when he even bothered with excuses. During the school day he could usually be found within six feet of Yuki.
Normally Yuki going to hang out with Heracles would be an issue, but Alice still had plans to swim after school with Lizzy. The beach was halfway between school and the street where the boarding house and Aunt Rachel's place was. Though it occurred to Alice she'd have to figure something out. She could ride with Bella, as she did pick up many of the Mer after school, but she only did it once and there were only so many seats. The idea of being crammed into the same space as the Bad Touch Trio, Matthias, and Berwald didn't seem very appealing. The school bus didn't run near their house, either.
Shaking her head, Alice settled down to wait for Elizabeta. It didn't take her long, seeing as there was no piano player to keep her occupied. As they started walking Elizabeta said, "I heard Antonio was going to take the plunge after school."
Alice ran a hand through her hair, frowning as it got stuck halfway through. She kept forgetting it was harder to do that on land. In water her fingers slid right through. "Can we not talk about any of that? I'm going swimming to relax, not to remember."
"Remember what? I know you're busy, but...
"Busy? It's more like there's a lot to worry about and only one me to do the worrying. There's human things to worry about, like getting a ride to and from school, and homework, and not wearing the same outfit twice in one week. Do not get me started on makeup, the only thing I can get on the first time is lip-gloss.
"Then there's the Mer things to worry about. You know father wants us to help Scott rule, and he and I are the only ones with a head for it. The twins are safer running a prank store than a kingdom. William is better as head scribe than a ruler, everyone including himself knows it. He's the only one who can work entirely with paperwork and not go mad. That leaves me and Scott to do all the ruling. Every time I'm home he tries to rope me into helping with the royal court.
"I'm happy you're here, really, but why in the name of Neptune did you have to bring so many with you? It's marvelous that it's working out for them, but that's just more for me to worry about. You've seen how many accidental bonds have been made, and it hasn't been a bloody month! If they do have to break them then I can't let them go to father alone. On top of that, with so many Mer on land in the same place it's all the more risk of people finding out who shouldn't."
Alice felt her eyes burning with tears of frustration by the time she finished her tirade. Elizabeta grabbed her wrist, walking faster. "Come on, you need the sea, STAT."
"And what about my bond-mate? That's the whole bloody reason I came here in the first place," sniffed Alice. She knew she was whining but at this point she couldn't bring herself to care. "I don't know how Alfred does so much and still stays so, so calm. With all that he does he should be run as ragged as me, more since he's on that football team."
"Maybe you should ask him."
Alice blinked up at Elizabeta, who was half stumbling along as she hurried them down the road. "What?"
"I'm your friend, and I want to help, but all I can really do is listen and get you some regular time in the ocean. Besides, he's the one you want, right? As your life-mate he'd be ruling right next to you. Now's as good a time as any to see how he handles this stuff."
"I can't tell him all that," protested Alice.
"No, but you just said he's handling more than you with no problem, right? Ask him how he does it. And he might be able to fix that ride problem."
Alice sniffed. "How am I supposed to ask him?"
"Like you did before. Start with 'hi' and go from there. How do you think I got Roderich to take me home after he finishes piano practice every day?"
The princess turned this over carefully. Elizabeta was right, as usual. She was a princess, therefore her life-mate would be a prince, a ruler. Hadn't that been part of the reason she'd picked Alfred in the first place?
"It'll be bonding time," threw in Elizabeta, seeing she'd almost won. "Time you get to spend with him."
Alice sighed. "Fine. We'll see how it goes."
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
Antonio paced at the end of the dock, bare feet padding on the wooden planks. It was a short one usually used by locals to load and unload personal boats and jet skis. Today it was empty though, what with it being Monday afternoon and the weather threatening to turn. The clouds blanketed the sky, but they weren't dark enough to worry the Mer much. If the wind picked up he'd worry, but not yet.
Besides, at the moment he had a much more important thing to worry about. What if she didn't come? What if she did? What would he say? How would he say it? Would she panic when she saw his fin? Would she hate him?
All these and more were turning around and around in his brain as he paced. He was so wrapped up he didn't hear her come down the dock until she demanded, "Well, I'm here, now start talking."
Antonio jumped, but then broke out in a relieved smile. "Lovi, you came!"
Lovina folded her arms, tapping a bare food on the planks. She was clad in a cute red bikini, hair pulled back into a pony tail. "Yes, I came, now don't make me regret it. What the hell did you do to me?"
"Well, I, um, you see, I unintentionally kissed you when I gave you CPR. Now you're turning into...like me."
The girl's eyes narrowed. "And just what are you?" He could feel she was still suspicious, though a thread of curiosity was noticeable. Okay, good, better than nothing.
"Merman," he blurted before he could over think it.
Lovina seemed to digest this for a few seconds, and then said, "I'm serious, tell me the truth or I'm leaving."
Antonio was relieved she seemed more surprised and disbelieving than angry. "No, no, it's the truth. Look, I'll show you."
He climbed halfway down the aluminum ladder, taking a moment to shed his swim trunks and toss them back up onto the dock.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded as he dropped into the water.
"I can't wear pants when I transfigure," he said, even as the transformation took over. He'd shed his shirt before she'd gotten there, and now he laid himself out over the water's surface, flicking his fin to get away from the dock enough to see her again. "Look, see? I'm telling the truth."
Lovina's jaw dropped. As she stared at him, he could feel shock, plain and simple. Then as the initial sharpness of it faded, he could feel traces of wonder and amazement. That was better than he'd hoped. Honestly he'd never thought much of his tail, and his scales were a less-than-glamorous blend of dark green and copper. In his opinion Gilbert's creamy white and ruby red combo was much more eye catching, but if Lovina liked them he'd hardly complain.
"So, eh...you believe me?"
Very slowly, Lovina nodded. "When you said I was turning into...mio dio."
"I'm sorry it happened the way it did, but I don't regret that it happened with you. It's why you're sick. If you get in the sea you'll feel better and the salt water will help when you're on land again."
"So if I go swimming with you, I'll feel better?" she asked in a doubtful tone.
Antonio nodded. "And if you get in, you can ask all the questions you want." And if you try to kill Ludwig I can hold you back.
"Fine," muttered Lovina, edging over to the end of the dock. Peering down at the water she asked wearily, "Am I going to sprout a fin too?"
"No, that's only after it's official. No one knows why, but you have to get married first."
"Then I'm not getting in the water. I can't swim, remember?"
Oh. Right. He'd forgotten about that. "You don't need to. It's why you've been so thirsty. You have gills now."
Lovina balked. "What?"
"You can breathe under water. Trust me, just jump in, I won't let you drown."
"Why the hell should I trust you?"
"Please, Lovi?"
She hesitated, edging over to the end of the dock and peering into the lapping water. "You sure about this?"
Antonio flipped over and flicked his fin, coming to rest at the base of the ladder. "Look, I'm right here. Just take it a step at a time, whatever makes you comfortable."
Lovina didn't look to thrilled about this. Antonio could feel her unease, the outright fear. It wasn't an emotion he liked.
"You'll feel much better once you're in the water," he promised. "Trust me, Lovi."
She gave him a long look, and then eased herself into a sitting position on the edge of the dock. She put her feet on the second rung of the ladder, and then slowly, reluctantly, edged down one rung at a time. When Lovina stood on the last dry rung she looked back at Antonio and asked, "Is the bond the thing that's telling me you're not lying?"
Antonio wasn't entirely sure about that, as he hoped she would trust him without the bond, but he nodded.
Lovina set her mouth in a grim line, and stepped down another rung, putting both feet in the water. The light waves lapped around her knees, but her hands were holding the ladder in a death grip. "If I let go, you have to promise me you won't let me drown."
"I already promised, Lovi."
She shuddered, and then to Antonio's surprise shoved herself away from the ladder. Lovina landed in the water with a splash, and immediately began to sink. Antonio darted around her, about to pull her to the surface, but stopped.
Instead of pulling her to the surface, Antonio wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down. Lovina panicked, fear pulsing through the bond as she thrashed wildly. Antonio wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing his lips to her ear.
"Shh, it's alright Lovi. Your gills, remember? You won't drown. Use your gills."
When all this got him was more thrashing, though it was weakening, he turned her around and took her face in his hands. "Trust me, Lovi," he murmured. "Breathe."
Breathing water had never been something he gave much thought to. Recently he'd found out that it was the opposite case for humans. It went against every instinct to inhale water, and in some cases they would actually die before they did it. Antonio wasn't about to let it get that far, if she put it off too long he'd just feed air into her lungs and repeat until she breathed for herself.
Fortunately it didn't come to that. Lovina stared at him hard, but gradually the fear began to fade from the bond. She parted her lips, hesitated, and inhaled.
Antonio knew the moment it hit her she wasn't drowning, because she grabbed his shoulders and started gulping in lungful after lungful of water. The more water that passed through her new gills, the more she relaxed.
"Better?" he asked once she'd calmed down.
Lovina gave him a dirty look, and though he could tell she'd called him a bastard yet again he didn't actually hear it.
"Sound travels differently in water, Lovi. Make your voice higher."
"Bastard," she tried again. This time her voice was squeaky.
"A little lower."
"Bastard." Ah, perfect.
"What do you think?"
Lovina seemed to consider this for a moment. "I feel...better," she said, sounding genuinely surprised. "I haven't felt this good in...so all of that was seriously because you kissed me?"
"I didn't mean to," protested Antonio.
"You- Feli. She kissed that potato bastard." Aiming a piercing stare that indicated he should not lie if he valued his life at Antonio, she demanded, "Please tell me he's not a merman too."
Antonio smiled sheepishly. "Well, eh, about that...
"I'll kill him!"
On land, Antonio knew he would have had no chance of grabbing her. But then that was why he'd wanted her in the water when she learned that part. It didn't matter if they were young or old, male or female, a Mer's tail was massively strong, and they had years of practice in using it to their full advantage.
"No, Lovi, wait," he protested, wrapping his arms around her from behind again. "Feliciana didn't know, how could she? You saw Ludwig's face, he didn't know she was about to do that."
"Miami my culo! You're all fish!"
Antonio frowned, hurt. "We're not fish, Lovi."
Surprisingly, Lovina stopped struggling. She sighed wearily. "I know you're not fish," she grumbled. "Sorry. But seriously, what the hell? Are there this many mermaids all over the place?"
Antonio's face lit up. She feels the bond, he thought, delighted. I've never seen her anywhere close to saying sorry otherwise! "No, we're not everywhere, and we prefer the term Mer. Mermaids are the girls, mermen are the boys, like me. But that's just if you're talking about us individually. When you're talking about us as a species, it's Mer."
"Whatever," she huffed. "So how many of you are there?"
Antonio hesitated. "I only know the ones that are here. And there's usually not that many. Most don't live on land, even fewer do it permanently."
"You're dodging, idiot. And let me go."
"Are you going to try and kill people?"
"No," she huffed.
Antonio let her go, and she moved away, continuing to tread water as she faced him. "Um, including me...there are eleven, I think. Including the princess."
"Including who?"
The Mer grimaced. Oops. "The princess. She came here last year. We thought we'd try it this year. But you can't tell anyone, Lovi. It has to be a secret."
Lovina scowled at him. "Why the hell would I tell anyone? The blond bastard is going to tell Feli, right?"
"I think so."
"He'd better," she grumbled.
"Ludwig is good, and he really likes her. He'll tell her. Do you want to learn how to swim now?"
The diversion worked. She looked at him sharply. "What?"
Antonio smiled.
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
The next day, Alice came to school to find Elizabeta sitting dejectedly at one of the picnic tables. She'd felt better today, the sea therapy having done it's work. She'd even devised a story to mask the Mer origins of what she'd be talking to Alfred about.
"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down across from her friend.
Elizabeta had her chin in her hands, looking dourly down at the knots in the wood. "He had a cough when he came to school yesterday. It's better today, so I guess he listened when I told him about drinking salt water."
Alice hesitated, unsure of how to go about this. Saying the right thing had never been her strong suit. "So...at least he believed you enough to try it?"
"Yes. I didn't think he believed me at the time. I think he just got bad enough for him to try anything. Now he thinks I'm crazy and he's changing and I don't know how to tell him. He doesn't flaunt it but his family's really rich. His parents want him to marry a debutante. I know he likes me a lot, but he wants to make them happy too. What am I supposed to do now?"
Alice hesitated. She didn't want to say "I have no idea", but it was the truth. "Well," she said slowly. "You could show him. Antonio did that yesterday, and you called me yourself to tell me it went well."
"Roddy isn't Lovina," protested Elizabeta.
"You're right, he's more rational, isn't he? Just...I don't know. Feel out the bond, see what you find and go from there."
Elizabeta nodded, grimly getting to her feet. "Here goes nothing. Wish me luck."
Alice watched her friend go, and then got up. She'd heard that the football team had been scheduled for an early practice, and if the bell was due to ring soon than they should be done by now. If she understood it right there was a game this Friday, and on game days the coach didn't have practices, so he made up for it with extra practices during the week. It seemed like a lot of work to her, but then she was never an athlete.
When Alice made her away around to the boy's locker room, the players were slowly trickling out, hair wet from a shower and clad in clean street clothes. She tried not to hover, to stay out of sight, but inevitably one of the players saw her anyway. She felt her ears get warm, but it turned into an all out blush when the guy walked back into the locker room and, apparently, bellowed across it, "Alfred! Your girl is waiting!"
Alice's jaw dropped, and she stared at the boy as he walked back out, giving her a wink as he swaggered into the school. She was still fuming when Alfred came out a minute later, backpack dangling from one hand as he rolled a t-shirt down with the other. Alice tried to focus on his face, but not before she got a glimpse at a well-toned stomach. Seriously, how'd he do that with a McDonald's addiction?
"Hey, Iggy. What's up?"
"I, um, err, I didn't ask him to do that," she blurted, flustered.
Alfred cracked a grin. "I figured."
"Right, I, um, I just wanted to talk to you about a few things."
He shouldered his backpack and glanced at his watch. "Uh, unless it's one yes or no question I don't think now's a good time. We've got about two minutes before the first bell and my homeroom's on the other side of the school."
"Oh, of course, right, sorry," said Alice, trying to beat a hasty retreat, still a little flustered.
"Hey, we can still talk. How about during lunch?"
Alice thought about how things would end up if they had this conversation in the lunch room. Unless you were sitting very close, you had to almost yell to be heard. The idea of bellowing, "You can't kiss me!" in the cafeteria wasn't a pleasant one.
"I don't suppose there's somewhere a bit...quieter?"
"There's the picnic tables I guess."
"Right, perfect. So, um, see you then?"
Alfred grinned. "You bet."
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
Elizabeta chewed her lip as Roderich had to stop playing for the third time in as many minutes to take a swing from the water bottle sitting next to the piano. She felt emboldened by the fact that, as weird as he'd found it, he had started adding salt to his water. Not much, but enough to help.
"Roddy?" she tried carefully when he'd finished chugging. "I need to talk to you."
Roderich set down the bottle and turned to give her his full attention. "What is it?"
"It's about your cough. And the kiss."
Frowning, he said, "I didn't get it until after our date, and I don't think it's contagious."
"No, that's not it. See, I gave it to you. No, that's not it either. You're not sick, you're just...changing. I'm sorry about the kiss, I mean I didn't mean to kiss you. I enjoyed it actually, but that's not really the point."
"Elizabeta," he interrupted gently. When she clamped her mouth shut he reached out, putting a hand over hers, which were gripping the piano seat tightly. "Don't babble. Start from the beginning and take as much time as you need."
"But class-
"It's homeroom, it's just announcements. I don't know about you but after that I have gym, and I really don't mind missing it."
Cracking a weak smile, Elizabeta took a deep breath, and tried to figure out just which beginning she should start from.
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
Yuki sat patiently in her seat at the back of homeroom, staring at her notepad as she debated silently. Alfred was a great artist, but when it came to plots he wasn't the most imaginative person. In turn he was thrilled with whatever she came up with, and when it came to drawing his skills far surpassed hers. In keeping with this, she handled the plot and he did the art. They had decided on everything except the way the last page would be. If it ended one way, it would send the story in a certain direction, but if it ended the other way, it would go a different way. Alfred said he didn't care, and left it up to her. Though considering it was a shared project she'd expected him to care whether or not the hero's main love interest died in said hero's arms...
"Yuki?"
The human looked up, torn from her thoughts. Heracles seemed to have woken from his nap, lifting his head from his arms on the desk next to her. He was studying her with his usual sleepy gaze, though it was no less sharp for all that.
"I have a question for you."
Yuki glanced around. Everyone was either texting or talking, ergo not paying attention. The teacher still hadn't come in yet, though the warning bell had rung.
"Yes?"
"I think I would like to kiss you."
Yuki started. "Now?" she demanded, a bit louder than she'd intended.
"No. Later. Maybe in a week. Or a month. If you are the one who will change I think you should choose. But I would still like to kiss you. I was wondering if you would like that too."
Though flustered, Yuki couldn't help but feel touched. Her face felt hot, but in a good way. "Yes, I would like that. But it will definitely have to wait."
Heracles nodded, and returned to his nap.
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